Ferguson: Berbatov hat-trick massive Man Utd achievement

It was his first for the club and the first by any United player in this fixture since Stan Pearson in September 1946.

"I'm told it's the first hat-trick for more than 60 years for a United player against Liverpool," Sir Alex told MUTV.

"That tells you what a big achievement it is. We're very pleased for him because his form has been excellent.

"There was a lot of criticism of Dimitar in the media last season. It happens when we buy a player for a lot of money and they don't score a hat-trick in every game. That's the way of the world for some players who come here.

"This season he's started off in the right fashion. His pre-season training was very good, he was good on the pre-season tour and he's carried that on. But there's never been any doubt here about the quality of the man, never any doubt. We've seen his quality again today."